Walking Day

What a glorious day weather wise. We were so lucky.

Walking Day in this Parish is a tradition that goes back to the 1860s. Traditionally it was the Village school and Sunday school treat day. Since the 1980s it has grown to include all the churches and schools in the village plus the parish council and other local organisations. It is an annual event which, apart from the war years, has rarely had to be cancelled.

We started with a service at 2pm with probably 800 people (mainly children) in church. The procession then formed outside 20mins later. The streets were lined with hundreds from the community who were there to watch and absorb the atmosphere. The village pubs were doing a roaring trade as people soaked up the sun and the village butcher had a stall outside with a hog roast which smelt delicious.

The procession walked from the centre to one end of the village, turned and then walked right to the other end of the village before returning back to the centre. It is probably about 2 miles and took 1hr 20mins. There were four bands and loads of banners.

At the end of the procession there was tea in the church hall, schools and scout hut for all the children. Our part is now over, the village will continue the festivities into the evening with all those outside the pubs and at the fair which, unlike yesterday, is now packed.